Ice Cream and Goodbyes
by Parmawen
Summary: Exactly a year after coming to Camp Half Blood, Luke and Annabeth say their final goodbyes.


Camp was quiet. There were a few satyrs gathering up discarded armor and a couple of campers wrapping up a volleyball game, but other than that, there was hardly anyone to be seen.

Except for one little girl, draped around a post at the end of the canoeing dock, swinging her legs lazily. Her face was slightly pinched, and she looked far away, as if she was lost in thought.

"Hey."

The little girl looked up, her golden curls framing her face. She smiled when she saw who had addressed her. "Hi Luke!"

Luke, carrying something in a brown paper bag, dropped to his knees. "Mind if I join you?"

"Nope. Sit down."

Luke grinned at her. "I haven't seen you at all today, Bethy. Been busy?"

Annabeth nodded. "Yeah, I was with Chiron this morning. He told me this amazing story about the astronauts—I mean _Argonauts_, and Jason, and the Golden Fleece. I'm going to go on a quest like that myself one day, you know.

Luke tousled her hair. "I have no doubt about it."

"Mr. D says I'm too little though, and won't ever be big enough." Her sunny expression suddenly dropped. "I'm not too little though. I'm _eight!"_

"What? Too little?" Luke stood up, pretending to survey her from head to toe. "Well, we'll have to fix that, won't we?" He pulled a half gallon of mint ice cream out of the bag at his feet. "Share this with me. It's too much for one, and who knows? It's dairy, and dairy is good for you."

"My step mother would have a fit," Annabeth retorted, but she took the spoon Luke offered her anyway.

"So what? She's not here. And don't listen to Mr. D, he doesn't know what he's talking about anyway. We'll do our own thing, and not worry about him. Sound good?"

"Uh huh!" Annabeth linked Luke's arm through her own, and leaned her head against his suntanned shoulder. She spooned a mouthful of ice cream, and groaned as she dropped a splatter on her shorts.

"Here." Luke handed her a napkin.

"Thanks." She dabbed at the spot.

"No problem." He sighed. "Would that everything could be solved as easily as that."

Annabeth frowned. "You remembered what today is too?"

"Yep. I've tried to go on with life though, and not think about it."

"Why?" Annabeth asked.

Luke scoffed. "Why do you think, Bethy? I lost one of my best friends exactly a year ago. I don't really like to think about it."

"But don't you think she would want you to?"

"What?"

Annabeth grabbed another spoonful of ice cream before answering. "She loved us, Luke. That's why she's a tree now. That's why we're here, still alive."

Luke smiled down at her. "You're pretty deep for an eight year old."

She rolled her eyes up at him. "And you're pretty slow for a fifteen year old."

"Not everyone's mom can be the goddess of wisdom, you know." He turned away, and Annabeth pretended not to see him wipe his eyes with his sleeve. "Some of our moms are…well, they're different."

"'S'okay," Annabeth murmured. She yawned. "Is there any more ice cream left?"

Luke turned the container towards her. "Looks like there's one more bite left. You can have it, I'm good."

"Thanks, Luke." Annabeth ate the last of the ice cream and smiled.

For a few minutes, they sat in companionable silence, gazing out over the lake. The sun was going down, and Apollo with his chariot was off to light up another part of the world. The sun was going out in a blaze of glory tonight, streaks of crimson, orange, and lavender filling the sky.

Finally, Annabeth spoke again. "Luke?"

"Hmm?"

"I miss her."

Luke turned toward her, putting his arm around her and pulling her towards him. "Every day, Bethy. I want to share," he gestured to the camp around them, "all this with her. I want to hear her laugh, and watch her take down one more monster, and have one last fight, and one last smile, and one last…I don't know, everything."

"We never got to say goodbye," Annabeth said softly.

"No. No, we didn't."

They both sat silently again, Annabeth leaning against Luke, biting her tongue to keep from crying.

"What do you say we go say goodbye now?" Luke said suddenly.

"But it's been a year," Annabeth protested.

"So? This is a good time, and I think she'd like to hear it. Come on."

At the top of the hill, a small figure and a slightly bigger one approached the giant tree. The little one ran towards it, throwing her arms around it, and kissing the rough bark. The larger one advanced slowly, almost reverently, and dropped to one knee.

"Goodbye, Thalia," Annabeth said, tears running down her cheeks. "I'll miss you. Thank you for being my mommy while we were coming to camp. You're amazing." She elbowed Luke. "Your turn."

"Au revoir, Thalia," Luke said huskily. "It's been a year today, and I just want to say thank you. Without you, Annabeth and I wouldn't be here. I wish I could see you again, but I know I'll always remember you. Goodbye."

Then, he turned away. "Come on, Bethy. I'll give you a piggy back ride down."

Annabeth clambered up onto his back, and together, they made their way back down the hill. They might be missing one of their members, but they were still a family.


End file.
